Tottenham MP David Lammy has shared his five fundamentals to success with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds connected to the charity Leadership Through Sport & Business.

Speaking in a presentation at The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) the 45-year-old outlined the importance of Education, Employment, Aspiration, Community and Parenting.

Mr Lammy argued that Education is where the inequality gap begins, and success should be put in context.

He said: “If you are a straight-A student from Gladesmore Community School, in all of the academic evidence, you will be brighter that a straight-A student from Eton because the student from Gladesmore has probably had to overcome a lot more to become a straight A student – which is why I put so much pressure on Oxbridge about their admissions!

“Employment is really, really important.

“And what I’ve learnt is that you have to do as much work experience as possible because it works out what you really want to do, it usually brings in income and it creates networks – who you know and what you know, it says to future employers, ‘this is someone I might want to employ’.”

Leadership Through Sport & Business (LTSB) has a social mobility programme.

It prepares young people from disadvantaged backgrounds for intensive accountancy apprenticeships with financial companies and elite football foundations.

Mr Lammy continued: “Aspiration is key, can you have a dream and achieve that dream”

“You could have really applied yourself at something like football but you didn’t quite make it.

“But, the discipline you put in, the hours that you put in, may not now deploy to football because you didn’t quite cut it.

“The skills you learnt, knowing what quality looks like, is something you can apply to another are in your life.

“I happen to believe we’re nothing without community.

“If you don’t know where you are from, you don’t know where you are going, it’s as simple as that.

“It helps if you have parents to set you on your way, but if you haven’t got the support of parents you’ve got people, in loco parentis, great teachers, those sorts of people, encouraging you and willing you on.”

LTSB act as parental figures giving assistance in and outside the workplace.

Pete Ward, Deputy CEO and Operations Director at LTSB, said to the students: “A lot of the points David made are exactly the points we make on your behalf when speaking to employers.

“The context of your background demands recognition. The quality you bring is from your background, the quality of resilience. 

"There are things you can bring from where you came from, and take to a new environment, which is a huge value to offer your employers. That’s the argument LTSB makes.”

CONEL run an accounting academy in conjunction with LTSB providing pre-apprenticeship training and opportunities to learn new skills.

Two accountancy pre-apprentices were listening to Mr Lammy’s speech at the college’s Microsoft Showcase Classroom.

Cheyann, 17, said: “I thought it was really good how he wants ethnic minorities to be understood and equal in the community.

“His passion and drive were very inspiring.

“Knowing where he has come from to where he is now, was something to really aspire to.”

Nabban, 21, added: “It was definitely inspiring.

“Probably more so because he’s from a background and environment I can relate to.

“He made it clear there were no excuses to get where you want to go.”

Contact employment director Debs Barlow at debs.barlow@leadershipthroughsport.org to become an employer, or apply for the scheme on www.leadershipthroughsport.org.